Hi all, I am a 23 year old male and new to this site, I do wish i had discovered it a long time ago as the people here are very friendly and understanding. I was diagnosed with Lupus when I was 17. It was disturbing in the intia stages coz I would be told that Lupus is only common in pregnant women and that it was hardly found in males. I used to think i was not normal or something was seriously wrong with me, but after reading a few articles, i realized i wasn't alone. Its good to talk to other people with Lupus coz they truly understand wat you going through. javascript:emoticon(':D')

rob

10-21-2008, 04:29 AM

Hi StuwiW,

Welcome! I'm Rob, and I was diagnosed with SLE in 2004, I was 36 at the time. Although Lupus is more common in women, there are plenty of men like you and I out there who have the disease too. So you certainly are not alone. People who do not have Lupus can, and do try to understand and be supportive. But, I think the only people who can truly understand what we are going through are others with the disease.

Finding, and talking to others with Lupus can really help people to cope with the symptoms, the pain, the fear. We're a pretty laid back group here, so make yourself at home. And once again, welcome.

Rob

KathyW1958

10-21-2008, 05:03 AM

Hi StuwiW,
Welcome to the site. There are a lot of good folks that come in here. I am not a male with Lupus. I am going to be 50 in December and have had Lupus for most of my life. Though Lupus is more common amongst women, men can get this nightmare as well unfortunately. Lupus is a hard illness to live with at times. I hope that you keep posting. There will be others that come along to greet you too.

Hugs,
Kathy

sits_inthe_corner

10-21-2008, 03:10 PM

Welcome StuwiW

Glad ya found us. The myth of lupus being common in pregnant women comes from the fact that a lot of women get diagnose because Lupus causes a high rate of miscarriages.

My sister had 5 miscarriages before she was diagnosed with lupus. She HAD the lupus for many years before she got pregnant in the first place.

But peoples (men and women's) complaints get written off as whiney or hypochondriac symptoms.

My mother also had lupus and the doctor made fun of her when she showed up with a list of complaints.

I'm still waiting for diagnosis. Even though I've had symptoms since I was 19. I'm 48 now :shock:

But at least I am on medications that help.

Looking forward to reading your posts :)

buddhabelly

10-21-2008, 03:47 PM

Welcome StuwiW :BIG:

I'm glad you found us too. When I was first diagnosed about 3 years ago, I felt so alone, had so many questions, concerns, complaints about aches and pains, etc... No one really understood me. The public arent too familiar with SLE (Lupus). So its hard to vent out to others. :(

So I was so excited to come across this awesome website. Everyone is so understanding, friendly, and always there to chat with. Whenever I have a question or concern, I try to scroll through all the topics and posts, and its so reassuring that Im not alone going through this, and that there are others who are walking in my shoes... Experiencing the same things I vent out about.

So welcome! Hope to hear from you soon. :wink:

Saysusie

10-21-2008, 09:22 PM

Hello and Welcome StuwiW:
As the other members have said, I'm glad that you found us and that you decided to join us. You are absolutely right...there are many men who suffer from Lupus (as Rob has pointed out), and when they do, their symptoms are usually much more severe than women's!
Rob is our moderator and you will find that he is a tremendous source of information. Especially from a man's point of view. Additionally, everyone here is supportive and very willing to do whatever they can to help you in any way that you may need help.
Once again....Welcome!

Peace and Blessings
Saysusie

StuwiW

10-21-2008, 11:42 PM

Thank you Guys, you are soo great, You make me feel very welcome that i have no problems in expressing my feelings here. I have made a post under
the men's forum, will anyone tell me what they think because i am very worried and stressed about this.